Afternoon:
10°c
Women in labour turned away by maternity units
Amy Iggulden, Evening Standard25 Sep 2007
Maternity units in London were forced to close 51 times last year because of overcrowding.
Women in labour were turned away because of the closures, which were caused by shortages of beds and staff.
Most lasted for less than 24 hours but one unit was shut to new admissions for three days.
The shutdowns are revealed in a report which also shows the midwife vacancy rate is 10 per cent in parts of London, partly because of recruitment freezes.
Top obstetricians complain that staff shortages are putting mothers and babies at risk.
Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, head of obstetrics at St George's Hospital in Tooting, said up to half the country's units were understaffed.
"Deliveries in London have been going up by 2.5 per cent every year, which means thousands of extra babies. We need more beds and better planning.
"We do our best in London but if you have 12 beds and 14 women in labour you have just got to move quickly to transfer them to neighbouring hospitals. It is not ideal but the nature of maternity is that it is unpredictable."
The report for the Nursing and Midwifery Council also reveals:
• Midwives fear that hospital reorganisations are putting too much pressure on services and leading to errors.
• There are not enough midwife supervisors to meet standards and there is a lack of training in how to read fetal monitors.
• Trusts are failing to notify the midwife supervising authority of major incidents.
• Midwives are too overworked to attend training meetings. There are 4,985 midwives in London, up from 4,590 last year, but demand is soaring and some posts are still empty.
A spokesman for NHS London said all but one of the council's standards had been met and midwifery was a "priority area".
He added: "A continued decrease in midwifery vacancy rates and increase in the number of midwives practising in London is good news but as clinical activity also increases we must ensure supervisors continue to monitor and support midwives in safe practice. We continue to recruit supervisors to undertake this role."
| Vacancy rates by maternity unit (including private) - in ascending order | ||
| Maternity Service | Vacancy % 06/07 | No. midwives |
|---|---|---|
| St John & St Elizabeth | -2.8% | 31 |
| Chelsea & Westminster | -1.9% | 201 |
| Portland | 0.6% | 65 |
| University College London | 2.9% | 147 |
| Mayday Hospital | 3.5% | 178 |
| North Middlesex Hospital | 4.1% | 123 |
| Harold Wood & King George | 4.2% | * |
| Whipps Cross Hospital | 4.3% | 172 |
| King's College Hospital | 4.4% | 241 |
| Barnet & Chase Farm | 5.0% | 260 |
| Guy's & St Thomas's | 5.3% | 285 |
| The Royal London Hospital | 6.4% | 147 |
| Kingston Hospital | 7.3% | 180 |
| Homerton Hospital | 7.7% | 175 |
| Lewisham Hospital | 8.4% | 129 |
| Ealing Hospital | 8.9% | 110 |
| Whittington Hospital | 9.0% | 171 |
| St Mary's Hospital | 9.1% | 156 |
| Princess Royal | 9.4% | 136 |
| St Helier and Epsom Hospitals | 9.4% | 234 |
| Queen Mary's (Sidcup) | 9.5% | 142 |
| West Middlesex Hospital | 9.8% | 131 |
| Queen Elizabeth | 11.6% | 153 |
| Queen Charlotte's Hospital | 13.1% | 191 |
| St George's Hospital | 13.3% | 191 |
| Central Middlesex & Northwick Park | 13.9% | 197 |
| Hillingdon Hospital | 14.5% | 134 |
| Royal Free Hospital | 17.2% | 118 |
| Newham Hospital | 18.4% | 168 |
| Lindo Wing (St Mary's) | 29.3% | * |
| London Total | 8.3% | 4985 |
As at 31st March 2007
- Not available
- Source : Local Supervising Authorities of London
Reader views (4)
No doubt our MPs send their wives to private clinics to give birth.
- Francis, Maida Vale, 23/04/2008 11:48
Report abuse
I regularly hear reports of a lack of midwives in our local hospial. When my wife gave birth there was only a trainee nurse on duty - it was only luck that my wife didn't give birth before a new midwife started her shift.
- Daniel, Epsom, 25/09/2007 16:19
Report abuse
This is scary for any woman who is pregnant or considering having a baby at some time in the future. It is terrifying to think of giving birth without the proper help. I feel so sorry for those women who have lost their babies unneccessarily because of staff shortages. Something clearly has to be done about this situation.
- Susan, Ealing, 25/09/2007 15:28
Report abuse
This is shocking, it's all well and good for Gordon Brown to sit there are the Labour conference and talk about making cannabis smokers criminals, and plans to make us a classless society, but what about addressing real issues that are affecting this country?
- Helen, London, 25/09/2007 13:04
Report abuse
